Nailless horseshoe.



No. 627,974. Patented July 4, I899. H. BROERS.

NAILLESS HURSESHOE.

(Application filed Dec. 17, 1898.)

(N0 Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l,

llhm U HIM Q I k R 1 mg Fi P;

Wzessgs ill/W7 ma'rauma. WASHINGTON n c Patenfed July 4, I899.

H. BROERS. I NAILLESS (Application nonsssnoa.

filed Dec. 17, I898.)

I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

(No Model.)

- fezayfimera UNITED STATES PATENT FF'ICE.

HENRY BROERS, OF GALVESTON, TEXAS.

NAILLESS HORSESHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 627,974, dated July 4, 1899.

Application filed December 17, 1898. Serial No. 699,528. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY BROERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Galveston, in the county of Galveston and State of Texas, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Nailless Horseshoes, of which the, following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in horseshoes, and has for its object to so construct such a shoe as to provide for attachment to a horses hoof Without the use of nails; and a further object of my invention is to provide for the expansion of the hoof; and a still further object of my invention is to provide detachable calks in order that the shoe proper may not be worn away and when the calks become worn they may be removed and others substituted in their place, so as to greatly increase the life of the shoe, thereby avoiding the necessity of constantly removing old shoes from the hoof and replacing new ones, which more or less injures the hoof.

With these ends in view this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, and then specifically designated by the claims- In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same, the construction and operation will now be described in detail, referring to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a front view of a shoe made in accordance with my improvement, the position of the hoof relative thereto being in dotted lines; Fig. 2, a section at the line 00 a: of Fig. 3; Fig. 3, a plan of the shoe, showing the means for its adjustment to various sizes of hoofs; Fig. 4, a bottom plan thereof; Fig. 5, a section at the line y y of Fig. 4; Fig. 6, a bottom plan of a portion of the horseshoe, a part thereof being in section so as to illustrate the arrangement of the adjusting and compensating members; Fig. 7, a section showing the manner of securing the front calks in position; and Fig. 8, a section at the line .2 z of Fig. 6, illustrating one method of securing the heel-calks in place.

In carrying out my invention as here embodied the shoe is made in two sections A and B, which are hinged together at C,'so as to have a limited swinging movement, and these sections are rendered adjustable by thebolt D, which passes through the lugs E, the head thereof snugly fitting Within the slot F, while the nut G, which is run upon the opposite end of this bolt, fits within the slot H. When it becomes necessary to adjust the sections of the shoe, this is readily accomplished by manipulating the nut H while holding the head of the bolt, so as to either draw the lugs E toward each other or force them apart, which will have the reverse effect upon the sections A and B of the shoe. A spring I may be coiled about the bolt between the lugs, so as to keep the latter firmly against the head of the bolt and the'nut, as will be readily understood. 7 v

A clamp-plate J is fitted upon each section of the shoe by means of the shanks K, the latter being arranged to slide within grooves formed in these sections, so that these clampplates have a limited sidewise movement and are normally drawn inward by the flat springs L, one end of each of which is secured to the inner edge of the shoe by a screw M, while the outer end of each spring has formed thereon a pin which projects into the slot N, formed in the shanks, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. These clamp-plates have projecting from their inner surface a seriesof prongs O of such a length as to be embedded. within the horses hoof without injuring the same, and auxiliary clamp-plates P are rigidly secured to the sections of the shoe and are provided with like prongs Q. By this arrangement to attach a shoe to a horses foot it is only necessary to so manipulate the nut Gr as to swing the sections A and B outward sufficiently to permit the clamp-plates carried thereby to surround the lower portion of the hoof, when by again manipulating this nut the clampplates are drawninward firmly against the hoof and the prongs embedded therein. If found necessary, these prongs may be driven within the hoof, and the spring action of the primary plates J facilitates this, since the sections of the shoe may be brought into proper relation to the hoof by adjustment, after which the plates maybe driven into firm contact therewith, the springs L thereafter holding them in this position.

After the shoe has.

'hoof. follows: It represents the two front calks,

thus been secured in position it will be seen that should the hoof expand the clamp-plates J would be gradually forced outward without loosening their hold upon the 1100f, thus permitting this expansion and avoiding the cramping of the hoof, as is the case with an ordinary shoe nailed thereto. This, as is well known, is of great advantage, as it gives freedom to the hoof for growth, and should the limit of the outward movement of these clampplates be reached the sections of the shoe may be slightly swung outward by the proper adjustment of the nut G.

While the removal of a shoe thus constructed is an exceedingly simple process and in no wise injures the hoof of the horse, I have provided detachable calks for receiving the wear incident to the use of the shoe, so that it seldom becomes necessary to remove the shoe, as these calks may be detached and others substituted while the shoe is upon the The arrangement of these calks is as each of which has formed therewith the screw S, adapted to be run into a correspondinglythreaded hole in the sections of the shoe, and when in place a screwT is passed through the lug U,formed upon the calk,and threaded into t'heshoe, as clearly shown in Fig. 7, thereby holding said calk in position, and as the head of the screw T is considerably above the contact-surface of the calk this head will not be injured when the shoe is used and will therefore remain in condition to manipulate the screw for the detachment of the calk. The heel-calks V are also provided with screws W, which are adapted to be run into threaded holes in the heel of the shoe, and when in position a set-screw X may be utilized to hold the screw W against displacement, or, if desired, a similar arrangement to that just described in connection with the toe-calks R may be utilized. By this arrangement of calks a shoe will last indefinitely and when once adjusted to the hoof will remain in position, adapting itself to any growth that may take place, and as the calks become worn they may be removed and replaced by others, which greatly lessens the cost of shoeing a horse and also has the advantage of permitting the use of roughened or sharpened calks for ice-covered roads or smooth calks when this condition has passed. This in itself is a great advantage, as it often happens that roads are covered with ice but for a short time and yet to such an extent as to risk inj uring the horse unless his smooth shoes are removed and he is rough shod; but by the use of two sets of calks this disadvantage is easily overcome.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is 1. A horseshoe composed of two sections hinged together, means for adjusting said sections, movable clamp-plates attached to the sections, springs for drawing said clampplates inward, and detachable calks secured to the under side of the shoe, substantially as shown and described.

2. A horseshoe consisting of two sections hinged together, lugs formed upon the front portion of said sections, a bolt passed through the lugs, a nut run upon one end of the bolt for adjusting the sections, a clamp-plate slidably attached to each of the sections, a spring secured to each section and connected with the clamp-plate s0 as'to draw it inward, secondary clamp-plates secured to the sections,

and calks secured to the under side of the shoe, as shown and described.

3. In combination, two sections hinged together so as to form a shoe, an adjusting-bolt having a nut run thereon for holding these sections in their proper relation, clamp-plates, shanks to which said plates are secured, said shanks being fitted to slide crosswise in the sections of the shoe, prongs projecting from the inner surfaces of the clamp-plates, secondary clamp-plates rigidly secured to the sections,prongs also carried by these lastnamed clamp-plates, and calks detachably secured to the under side of the shoe, as specified.

4. In combination with a shoe of the character described, clamp-plates, shanks carrying said plates, said shanks being fitted to slide crosswise of the sections, a spring adapted to draw each shank inward, and prongs projecting from the inner face of each clamp, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY BROERS.

Witnesses:

S. EDWARD DOXVLES, B. FRIEDNER. 

